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A thug who threw a bin and traffic cone at a Doncaster takeaway delivery driver’s car before he and two others set upon him in a ‘horrific attack’ has been jailed.

Kane Moffatt, aged 22, kicked the Mexborough man repeatedly in the horror assault, which he carried out alongside 20-year-old Philip Temperton and a 17-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Robert Ewing (left) murdered Paige and Gareth Dewhurst was found guilty of helping to dispose of her body

Robert Ewing sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering 15-year-old in Blackpool to stop her reporting their sexual contact to police

A man who murdered a 15-year-old girl to stop her reporting their sexual contact has been sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 33 years in prison.

Robert Ewing, 60, exploited Paige Chivers, a vulnerable teenager from Blackburn, Lancashire, for his sexual gratification and then decided to silence her when she threatened to go to the authorities.

A jury convicted him of murder earlier this month, but was not told that Ewing had previous convictions for child sex abuse.

Ewing served a 12-month prison sentence in 1995 for gross indecency with a 13-year-old girl, whom he also indecently assaulted.

Justice Jeremy Baker, sentencing Ewing at Preston crown court, told him he had carried out a “carefully planned and executed murder” to avoid the prospect of returning to jail.

The body of the teenager has still not been found, nearly eight years after she went missing.

Mr Justice Baker said Paige’s life was “in turmoil” in the summer of 2007 after her mother had died in February that year and her late father’s addiction to alcohol had worsened to the extent that he largely abandoned her.

He said she was “sexually promiscuous” and an “easy target”, which was recognised by Ewing, whose flat near her home in Bispham became “something of a magnet” for young girls as he allowed them to smoke, drink alcohol and take drugs.

The judge said: “There came a point when Paige Chivers realised that she could manipulate the situation to her advantage and threatened to report you to the authorities … the last thing you wanted to occur was for the public authorities to be acquainted with what you had been doing.”

Less than a fortnight before Paige went missing, Ewing contacted police to tell them that a “problem child” had turned up on his doorstep, having been thrown out by her father.

Prosecutors said he was effectively “testing the water” and there had been “very little reaction” by officials.

The judge, who labelled the defendant intelligent and devious, said he also wanted to create an “innocent cover story”. He told the court that the precise circumstances of Paige’s death may never be known in the absence of any explanation from Ewing, but noted that Ewing had been heard in a covert police recording saying: “You don’t mess with me. Quick hammer over the fucking head, then they will be sorry.”

Only three tiny spots of blood belonging to Paige were found by police in inner hallway of his flat in All Hallows Road, after a meticulous clean-up by the defendant.

On August 23 2007, Paige packed two carrier bags with clothes and left her home in Longford Avenue, Bispham, after a row with her father over missing money. Later the same day she was spotted at a nearby bus stop with the defendant. An extensive proof of life inquiry followed her disappearance but found no evidence that Paige was alive and she never claimed a “significant” inheritance left to her after her mother’s death.

Ewing murdered her between August 23 and August 27 and then persuaded his friend, Gareth Dewhurst, 46, to use his car to dispose of the body. The judge said Dewhurst had been a “willing, if not enthusiastic, participant”. Dewhurst, of Duncan Avenue, Blackpool, was jailed for seven years for assisting an offender and an additional year for intending to pervert the course of justice by intimidating witnesses.

Ewing, of Kincraig Place, Blackpool, was also convicted of perverting the course of justice by intimidating witnesses and providing false information to the police.
Both men denied all the offences.

The teenager was described as “a fun-loving kid, bright and funny” in a victim impact statement from sister Madison Gordon, which was read out in court.

She said: “Paige was only a kid when her mum (Sheila) passed away in 2007. I would say it broke us. I think it hit Paige hard because of her age.
“Every birthday is a reminder that Paige is no longer with us to open her cards and to celebrate with her.”

She thought Paige would have gone on to study hair and beauty and would have been “a brilliant mum”. She added: “Not a day goes by that we don’t think about her. It should not have happened to my bonny outgoing sister. We all have big holes in our hearts that can no longer be replaced.”

A man who went into his local Sainsbury’s supermarket and stuck stickers on packets of meat that read “beware halal is barbaric and funds terrorism” has been given a month-long curfew.

Liam Gary Edwards, 29, today pleaded guilty to racially aggravated criminal damage on the day of his trial but insisted that he was protesting against the halal slaughter of animals after watching a television documentary.

The self-proclaimed “animal lover” stuck nine stickers with the hashtag #banhalal on halal poultry products after obtaining the stickers over the internet.

At an earlier hearing held at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court, the van driver pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis after police found the Class B during a search of his home in Chancel Avenue, Ordsall, following the incident.

Today the same court was told that CCTV captured Edwards going into the supermarket on Regent Road, Salford, on February 20 with his girlfriend and two young children.

Later staff at the store became aware of the stickers on various packets of chicken breasts, thighs and a whole chicken worth £16.50 which could no longer be sold due to concerns for contamination.

Upon searching the hashtag term on Twitter, staff found images of the stickers on trollies and point of sale displays.

For the prosecution, Miss Lisa Connor said that upon his arrest Edwards apologised to officers.

She said: “He accepted he had been in possession of the stickers and placed them on various items. He got involved in a Twitter conversation about halal and maintains that his whole motivation was his concern for the way in which halal meat is obtained and what happens in abattoirs.”

She added that he had never disputed the offence and accepted the prosecution’s case

“He maintained he wasn’t motivated by any racial prejudice he just wanted to highlight the cruelty involved. He admitted he was sorry for his actions.”

The court heard that he had no similar matters on his record.

For Edwards, Mr Lee Hammond said that after watching a documentary on how livestock were dealt with in slaughterhouses he had taken to Twitter.

There he came across others who shared views of what they perceived to be “unfavourable methods” and one sent him the stickers.

Mr Hammond said: “Unfortunately the group he had found had more extreme views that went in to religion, funding and terrorism.”

He added that there had not been any complaints to the store or the police by members of the Muslim community.

Edwards told the bench: “I’m a big animal lover, be it for racial or other purposes I believe it is wrong to treat animals in that way.”

In passing sentence of a four-week curfew for the two offences to run between 9pm and 7am, chairman Mrs Vanessa Goldstone said it had not been “a run-of-the-mill case”.

He must also pay £100 prosecution costs, £60 surcharge and £16.50 compensation.

Jospeh Baker was jailed for nine years for a vicious bottle attack that left his victim blind in one eye.

Joseph Baker left a teenager with “life-changing” injuries.

He gate-crashed a house party on Kenilworth Avenue, in Fleetwood.

Baker hit him the victim across the face with a bottle of Bacardi, slicing his eye open The attack left the 19-year-old victim blind in that eye Baker was found guilty of wounding and jailed by a judge at Preston Crown Court for the attack
A thug who blinded his victim in a vicious and unprovoked attack with a glass bottle has been jailed for nine years.

Joseph Baker left a teenager with “life-changing” injuries when he hit him across the face with a bottle of Bacardi, slicing his eye open

He gate-crashed a house party on Kenilworth Avenue, in Fleetwood, where he assaulted the 19-year-old victim, who also lives in the port.

Detectives said a police officer, who was “in the right place at the right time”, rushed the victim to hospital himself because of the severity of the injuries.

Baker, 20, formerly of South Park Drive, Marton, was found guilty of wounding and jailed by a judge at Preston Crown Court for the attack, which took place in December.

Det Con Emma Shuttleworth, of Blackpool CID, told said after the hearing: “The victim has got life-changing injuries that have affected his job and the way he presents himself.

“The attack slit his eye and left him blind in that eye.

“The victim is a really nice lad who was not out looking for trouble.

“This attack has changed his life, the poor lad. He didn’t deserve that.”

She said the victim was with friends at a house party, on Kenilworth Avenue, on the evening of December 6.

“They are a bunch of really nice kids,” she added. “They were having a house party for a friend who was moving away from the area.”

Baker was among a number of uninvited guests who turned up to the house late in the evening.

The attack is believed to have taken place either late on December 6 or in the early hours of the following day.

Det Con Shuttleworth said: “Without any provocation or any reason whatsoever, he approached the victim, who was outside the address, and smashed him in the face with a Bacardi bottle.

“A police officer driving down the street saw the commotion and arrested the suspect.

“It was a case of being in the right place at the right time – it could have escalated into something far worse.”

She said the injuries were so serious that the officer took the victim straight to hospital himself, rather than wait for an ambulance to arrive.

She praised the victim and other involved in helping bring Baker to justice, saying they had all been “really accommodating” of the legal process.

Baker was given a 12-year sentence – nine years in prison followed by three years on licence – at a hearing on Monday after being found guilty of wounding.